Graduate

Graduate Fellowships

The McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society offers fellowships that are open to graduate students from across the university. The fellowship creates a supportive community in which fellows examine ethical questions in their research, and that more broadly relate to their roles as scholars and citizens. See the call for applications below for further details about the program's structure. See current fellows.

The call for applications for the 2018-19 cohort will be circulated in May, with applications due in June.

For 2017-18, The McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society will offer up to 12 fellowships to graduate students. The fellowships, open to graduate students from across the university, will create a supportive community in which fellows will examine ethical questions central to their research interests, and more broadly that relate to their roles as scholars and as citizens. Through a workshop that meets twice a month with topical readings, guest speakers, and presentations of fellows' work in progress, fellows will reflect upon ethical questions that arise in the non-ideal conditions that shape our political, economic, and social conditions today.

These questions include:

How should policy makers deal with deep disagreement among citizens?

What resources do people need to live a decent life, and what role should the state play in providing those resources?​

What ethical dilemmas arise in one’s role as an academic researcher (e.g., conflicts of interest; issues of informed consent; dilemmas raised by research with vulnerable populations)?

By focusing on ethical quandaries that arise when such questions are considered in specific contexts – e.g., in relation to education or environmental policy, in view of empirical facts and empirical uncertainty, and given human frailty – fellows will gain exposure to a wide array of perspectives and methodologies for thinking about ethical issues in their own research.

Program Structure

Fellows will attend a workshop that meets twice a month each quarter (with a combination of lunches and dinners) to share work in progress, hear from visiting speakers, and discuss topical readings. Fellows will also participate in a workshop lead by professional editors from The Conversation to learn how to write about their research for a more general audience, and how to get that work published (date TBD).

We plan to select up to 12 fellows. Fellows will receive a stipend of $1000 per quarter for three quarters.

Application Process

The fellowship is open to graduate students from across the university. A complete application includes:​

Short response (500 words total) to the questions: Why do you want to participate in this program and how will it advance your work? What would you bring to the fellowship cohort?